utah

Nearly one in four toddlers are overweight or have obesity, but lately those numbers have dropped. A recent study shows 2-to-4-year-old kids have significantly lower obesity rates than in 2010. In Utah, obesity rates among toddlers dropped from 12.5 percent to 8.2 percent.

Americans are among the most generous people in the world, according to a recent international study. The United States ranked second out of 140 countries surveyed annually by the Charities Aid Foundation 2016 World Giving Index.

Evan McMullin, Independent candidate for president, is possibly on the cusp of doing something no “third-party” candidate has done in decades: win a state. We’re talking about Utah, where McMullin is neck-in-neck with Donald Trump in the latest polls, even leading in one or two.

What started as two people dressed as clowns trying to lure children into the woods of South Carolina has turned into a national phenomenon. Nationwide, people are choosing to imitate these clowns and taunt children and adults alike.

I’m riding around Nibley, UT with Ron Hellstern, a former city councilman and retired science teacher. Ron is taking me on a tour through a few of his neighbor’s backyards, examples of a collaboration to turn their properties into wildlife habitats. Our first stop is the home of Eric Alder whose backyard pond attracts a wide variety of birds.

A new science discovery center will open this weekend just outside of the southeastern Utah city of Monticello. Founders hope the $8 million center will bring tourists to Monticello without causing overcrowding.

In July, the Salt Lake Tribune released an article about four Utah State University women who said they were raped by the same man, but Logan police and the university dropped the cases and the suspect was never prosecuted.

Many Utahns are planning on taking their boats out to Utah’s lakes this Pioneer Day weekend. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officials hope boaters stop to get their boats checked for invasive mussels, which are often called the “STD of the Sea.”

A new phone application called “Pokemon Go” was released Friday, and now almost as many people use the app daily as Twitter.

The game uses GPS to track where players are located and scatters Pokemon, which means “pocket monsters” in Japanese, around the country. The game encourages players to "catch em’ all" by traveling around their cities searching for the Pokemon with their smart phones.

Nearly 80 percent of Utah's counties are facing a medical-professional shortage, making the state the third worst in the country for the doctor-to-patient ratio. The state’s second medical school will open in August 2017 in Ivins, Utah, with the hope to address the statistic.

Aerial firefighting operations were grounded for several hours on Sunday at three of Utah’s wildfire locations due to a drone sighting. Drones have become such a problem in Utah that the Utah Legislature has passed a bill prohibiting unmanned aerial vehicles in active wildfire areas.

The 2016 Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah announced earlier this week the routes and stages of the 704-mile race that will take place August 1-7. This year is the centennial of the National Park Service and to celebrate, Zion National Park is teaming up with the Tour of Utah to show off the state’s iconic scenery.

Although many Utahns leave the state for vacations during the summer, many choose to stay home for financial reasons, work obligation or simply not wanting the hassle of planning a trip. But staying home doesn’t necessarily mean summer will be boring, especially in Salt Lake City.